In recent decades, the field of disabilities studies has shifted from solely a medical outlook to a more rounded approach of how disability is constructed culturally and socially. With this change, disability scholars aim to understand and accept disability as a part of human experience; establishing a person’s capability and behavior as a difference and not a deficit. Within disability studies, the supposed “deficit” of disability comes from a society deeming someone as normal or abnormal with normalcy as superior to anything that does not meet that standard. Not only can this view of disability studies be reflected on human bodies, but it can also be applied to musical contexts and narrative artforms. As Joseph Straus notes, music and our narratives about it, often allow for metaphors of musical dysfunction and rehabilitation, or of tension and release. Film and film music are two other artforms that also use depictions of disability as obstacles to overcome by the end of the narrative. However, within the field of music theory and disability studies specifically, film soundtracks are a less explored topic. Through this thesis, I seek to provide a cross-disciplinary approach to the analysis of film and music through visual and sonic aspects of disability narratives to provide a better understanding of how these narratives function in society and culture.

In this document I examine four narrative plot points and the accompanying music from the film How to Train Your Dragon (2010) through the lens of disability studies. This animated children’s comedic, adventure, fantasy movie incorporates complex themes of identity and friendship across differences into the narrative and music that creates an enjoyable viewing experience and invites a disability perspective. I will begin with a literary review of the scholarship on music and disability studies and narrative in film. Next, I briefly dive into four plot points that illustrate the underlying normal versus abnormal binary in the film. These plot points center on the outsider status of the main character, Hiccup, and his eventual dragon friend, Toothless, as well as the larger opposition of Hiccup's Viking community and Toothless' dragon family. I analyze important moments within the score that display these binaries, focusing specifically on the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless. To conclude, I discuss the importance of using this lens of disabilities studies to emphasize acceptance, enrich the meaning of music, and provide valuable insight of deeper connections within the narrative of a film and its music. Ultimately, this thesis seeks to expand the interdisciplinary connections across disabilities studies, film studies, and the field of music theory.

Keywords: Music and Disability Studies, Narrative, Film Music, Joseph Straus, Claudia Gorbman, John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon, Children’s Film, Animated Film